My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

In his sleep, he flailed his hand up and down at the sound of the ringing bell.

Instead of the usual softness of the bed, the distinct hardness of the floor was transmitted through his palm.

It seemed that after having dinner last night, he had intended to read a book in the study for a while but ended up falling asleep there.

Being the Absolute, sleeping on a hard floor for a night didn’t cause back pain or anything, but waking up somewhere other than his bed was not a pleasant feeling.

-It’s been a while! Master!

Without even looking at the smartphone he had somehow found, he brought it to his ear, and a booming voice immediately greeted him.

This guy always spoke in a serious, low tone when addressing his subordinates or the other Seven Deadly Sins, but when speaking to him, he answered as if he were a soldier, loudly and energetically.

Recognizing the voice as Oman’s the moment he heard it, Cain replied in an irritated tone to the noisy voice disturbing his morning.

“Shut up. You’re too loud.”

-I apologize. It seems I’ve dared to disturb your precious slumber, Master.

The voice from beyond the smartphone grew noticeably gloomy, as if deeply regretful.

With just one word from him, Oman’s emotions swung wildly, as if he were a manic-depressive.

-In light of this, I shall take responsibility and commit seppuku…

No, he was definitely mentally unstable.

Seppuku over a mere scolding? Ridiculous.

Even the stubborn samurai, who were said to have invented the concept of seppuku in the eastern continent, wouldn’t go this far.

At least those guys, after losing to him, had the guts to declare they would commit seppuku, only to change their tune and beg for their lives when he said, “Great. Saves me the trouble of killing you myself and turning you into an undead. If you’re going to do it, hurry up. I’m busy.”

Compared to them, Oman’s madness was evident in the fact that he seemed genuinely willing to commit seppuku over such a trivial matter.

“Don’t die. If I have to raise you as an undead, your efficiency will drop compared to when you were alive.”

It would be a huge loss if this guy died.

Among the Seven Deadly Sins, Greed might be able to somewhat fill in, but he caused so many unintended accidents due to his excessive greed.

Like the Grant Department Store incident.

For that reason, Oman’s death was absolutely unacceptable.

-To think you would regard me so highly… I, Oman, am truly moved…

“Enough. Why are you calling me so early in the morning?”

Cutting off Oman’s words, Cain yawned and sat on the floor.

Although it was already past 1 p.m., that wasn’t particularly important.

To Oman, the Death King’s words were law.

If Cain declared 1 p.m. to be morning, then it was morning.

-It seems that somewhere, a gate to the Underworld has opened.

At Oman’s words, Cain’s half-asleep eyes, visible behind his thick glasses, instantly turned serious.

Throwing away his drowsy expression, Cain focused intently on the voice coming through the smartphone.

Perhaps sensing the change in Cain’s demeanor.

Oman’s voice continued from the other side of the smartphone.

-Dekken Nasara.

A single name slipped from his lips.

It was the name of the vermin who had caused a terrorist attack at the Grant Department Store a few days ago, loitering unnecessarily in front of Cain before being executed.

Cain wasn’t someone who remembered people’s names well, but he wasn’t so foolish as to forget a name from just a few days ago.

-According to Wrath, when Nasara Company was destroyed, he confirmed that Dekken Nasara was also killed.

Normally, if there was any ambiguity or uncertainty, Wrath would have immediately bowed his head and apologized, thinking he had made a mistake.

But Wrath had confidently asserted his innocence.

He was certain that he had killed him.

And to prove it, he had moved on his own to find evidence.

-And I confirmed it. At the time of the incident, Dekken Nasara was indeed dead.

“……”

-Additionally, during the investigation, I uncovered some intriguing facts.

Dekken Nasara wasn’t the only one.

Several criminals whose deaths had been confirmed in the past.

They had been spotted reappearing in the Dark District.

One or two could be dismissed as a misunderstanding.

Perhaps someone thought they were dead, but they had miraculously survived.

Or maybe, like Sloth, they had been lazing around in a room doing nothing, and rumors of their death had spread.

But if such incidents kept repeating?

Coincidences didn’t happen so consistently.

“When did it start?”

-Approximately three years ago.

“That roughly matches up.”

The Underworld, huh…

Was the King of the Underworld still hibernating, even though it was spring?

How poorly must he have managed the Underworld for the dead to roam freely in the living world?

If he was going to manage things so sloppily, he shouldn’t have smacked Cain on the head and told him, “Don’t disrupt the laws and bring chaos to both the living and the dead,” when Cain had once asked if he could try resurrecting someone.

Cain frowned as the image of that old geezer’s face came to mind.

But only for a moment.

A chillingly cold smile spread across his lips.

“Find it immediately. Where the gate has opened.”

The enemy who had killed his older sister.

Until now, he hadn’t found even the smallest clue.

That’s why Cain had been considering.

Whether the culprit behind this incident was a newly emerged Absolute-level supernatural being.

‘But if that’s the case, the story changes.’

The Underworld and the living world were completely different realms governed by entirely different laws.

And within the Underworld, the King of the Underworld wielded power surpassing that of an Absolute, truly embodying the meaning of a ‘god.’

Opening a gate to the Underworld without drawing his attention was no easy feat.

‘At least Absolute-level.’

So, he needed to confirm.

Whether the rift had been created from within or torn open from the outside.

If it had been torn open from the outside, it would increase the likelihood that it was the work of a newly emerged supernatural being, as Cain had speculated.

But if it had been created from within.

‘Then it’s not impossible for a new Absolute-level being to appear.’

Finally, Oman had brought a clue worth pursuing.

-I will locate it as quickly as possible.

Listening to Oman’s voice through the smartphone, Cain ended the call.

Then, with a drowsy expression, he scratched his well-toned abs and let out a big yawn.

‘I’m hungry.’

After all, Oman would handle everything.

All Cain had to do was wait.

There was no need to rush unnecessarily.

With that thought, Cain left the study, intending to cook some ramen.

‘By the way, why didn’t the kid wake me up before leaving? She usually does.’

Arina would have been baffled if she had heard that.

Before leaving for the Academy in the morning, she had knocked on the study door several times, even hearing Cain mutter in his sleep, “I’m awake, so stop knocking. It’s noisy,” before heading off to the Academy.

She never would have imagined that he would fall right back asleep after saying that.

“……”

Arriving in the kitchen, Cain scratched the back of his head as he noticed something on the dining table.

Rolled omelette and refreshing kimchi bean sprout soup were covered in plastic wrap and left on the table.

‘Guess ramen’s out.’

Quietly, he approached the rice cooker, opened it, and scooped a suitable amount of rice into a bowl, as expected, finding it set to keep warm.

“…It’s good.”

Cain slowly savored the now-cold food, which had been sitting out for too long.

＊＊＊

A new semester.

During this time, those newly entering Benedict Academy weren’t limited to just the incoming students.

“Hello~ I’m Clara Propol~”

A woman with light pink hair that flowed all the way down her back.

Even though her outfit was tightly wrapped, her enormous and voluptuous chest couldn’t be hidden in the slightest.

Her languid tone, which seemed to stretch out at the end of every sentence, was addictive.

Clara Propol had newly joined this year as the nurse in charge of the infirmary and as the professor teaching Emergency Treatment Studies.

“You must be Professor Vivaldi~ right?”

“Yes, I’m Ecleus Vivaldi, Professor Propol.”

Sitting across from her was a man with a distinctly intellectual appearance.

His hair, almost as long as Clara’s, was neatly braided and draped over the front of his chest.

Wearing a brown suit that matched the color of his hair and glasses, he gave off the impression of a model student who had excelled academically during his school days.

Like Clara, he was one of the new professors joining this year. A member of the prestigious Vivaldi Viscount family and the instructor for the “Magic Composition Studies” class, Professor Vivaldi.

“Please call me Clara~ I don’t particularly like the sound of ‘Propol’ because it reminds me of propofol~”

“I apologize.”

“It’s fine~ You didn’t know~ so it’s okay~”

Saying this, Clara turned her head to the right this time.

Sitting there was a man who appeared to be the complete opposite of Professor Vivaldi.

“Thank you for inviting me as well, Professor Clara.”

Black hair and black eyes.

Dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept, and hollow cheeks.

Although he wore a neatly tailored black outfit, perhaps due to his slender and frail frame,

unlike Ecleus Vivaldi, his clothes didn’t fit well, making him look loose and untidy.

Like the other two, he was also a new professor at Benedict Academy this year, a black mage teaching the “Curse Studies” class, Professor Carlson.

“It’s no problem~”

At Carlson’s words, Clara gave a languid smile.

“Everyone must have been busy with the new semester~ Since we’re colleagues, I thought it’d be nice to get to know each other and build some rapport~ but it’s been hard to find the time~”

Colleagues……

To be honest, Ecleus Vivaldi agreed with Clara’s words.

Since they were colleagues, it would be easier to share their struggles.

Building a good relationship would certainly help with life at the academy.

Humans are inherently social creatures who cannot live alone, so if the opportunity arose, it would be good to form connections with others.

That’s why he had gladly accepted Professor Clara’s invitation.

‘However.’

He couldn’t help but feel an innate aversion toward Professor Carlson.

Black mages weren’t forbidden in the Elemental Kingdom, but perhaps due to societal prejudice,

it wasn’t easy to converse with him without preconceived notions, unlike with Professor Clara.

‘I need to reflect on this.’

Judging someone by their appearance is wrong.

Prejudice is the greatest obstacle to understanding someone.

To truly understand a person, one must look at their essence.

“The tea is quite delicious.”

“You looked very tired~ so I prepared something with ingredients good for relieving fatigue~”

“I see. I think I’ll be visiting the infirmary often from now on.”

“Feel free to come anytime~”

Just from this conversation, it was clear he wasn’t a bad person.

It was simply that his first impression made him seem difficult to approach.

Watching Carlson have an utterly normal conversation with Professor Clara, Professor Vivaldi cleared his throat.

“Actually, I’ve always been quite interested in black magic. You know, in the Elemental Kingdom, there aren’t many, um… well…”

How should he explain this?

If he said there weren’t many proper black mages, it might sound like he was criticizing all black mages.

Considering Carlson might have faced such prejudice often, he wanted to be careful with his words, but he couldn’t think of the right phrasing.

“It’s fine. Please speak freely.”

“I’m truly sorry.”

Did he just receive consideration instead?

At Carlson’s words, Professor Vivaldi blushed, embarrassed.

“Anyway, even if we walk different paths, aren’t we pursuing the same goal in our studies? Would it be alright if I came to discuss things with you sometime?”

“Of course, feel free to visit anytime.”

“Thank you, Professor Carlson.”

As expected, the first impression was the biggest hurdle.

Once that was overcome, he thought they might be able to become friends faster than he had anticipated.

Matching Carlson’s outstretched hand, Professor Vivaldi extended his own for a handshake.

Squish.

And then, feeling something strange in his palm, his gaze instinctively dropped downward.

Ribbit.

Professor Vivaldi’s face turned pale as he froze, holding a small frog in his hand.

Seeing him in that state, Carlson smiled brightly and said,

“You seemed too stiff, so I thought I’d play a little prank. How was it?”

“…….”

“Professor Vivaldi?”

“…….”

“Professor Clara! We have a patient here! He fainted while standing!”

Professor Carlson, the black mage.

As expected, Professor Vivaldi thought it would take quite some time to get close to him, just as his first impression suggested.